Diane Warren Responds to Cher Saying She's 'Cheap' in New Doc: ‘I Don’t Know Why She Calls Me That’ (Exclusive)

Cher has a lot to say about her longtime friend, songwriter Diane Warren.

In an interview for a new documentary Diane Warren: Ruthlesswhich premiered in theaters on January 10 and will be available to stream on MasterClass from January 16, Cher, 78, offers the first words that come to mind when you think of Warren, 68.

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“How about Diane being crazy, can we start with that? I don’t think she would argue with me for a second,” says Cher. “Nuts, cheap, relentless, optimistic, sweet. She’s just crazy – oh my god. But she writes great songs.”

‘Diane Warren: Ruthless’.

Courtesy of MasterClass

Speaking to PEOPLE about the documentary, Warren says she disagrees with some of the adjectives Cher uses to describe her. “I don’t know why he’s calling me [cheap]”, she says. “It’s not exactly cheap — I’ve never been cheap. I paid for ‘If I Could Turn Back Time’. ”

The song, one of Cher’s most famous hits, was not an easy sell. “I go up to her and say, ‘Cher, you have to sing a song,’ [She goes] ‘I f—– hate him, f—– hate him,’ says Warren, trying to get Cher to record it. “I grabbed her legs. I kept her feet on the ground literally, and I said, ‘Until you say you’ll at least try…’ ”

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Cher, however, was firm in her refusal. “I kept saying, ‘No, I don’t want to record this song. I don’t want to do that. I hate it,’ she recalls in the documentary.

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It wasn’t until Warren offered to cover the cost of the song and promised to release her grip on Cher’s legs that the singer finally agreed to give it a try. “I thought she was the cheapest chick I knew,” Cher says with a laugh. “But from the moment I started singing it, it was perfect. I did it in about 15 minutes.”

Warren recalls watching from the booth as Cher began to sing: “I remember looking into the glass booth, seeing her singing, and she looked at me like, ‘You—king cu—-, you were right. ‘ ”

Reflecting on the battle to record the song, Cher reflects, “I mean, Diane is relentless. It’s relentless, but thank God, because it’s one of my favorite songs and one of my biggest hits.”

Cher (left) and Diane Warren as Warren receive their 2022 honorary Oscar.

Valerie Macon/AFP/Getty

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The two have remained close friends since the release of “If I Could Turn Back Time” in 1989, and their bond has only grown stronger. Cher presented Warren with her honorary Oscar in 2022, making her the first songwriter in history to receive it. “I haven’t gotten a competitive one yet,” the 15-time nominee jokes to PEOPLE.

But seriously, Warren is still hoping for that ignoble Oscar, and could be in the running for a 16th nomination this year for her song “The Journey,” which appears in Six triple eight. “It would be cool to win. I’ve never had a sweet sixteen,” she jokes.

However, her greatest reward is doing what she loves.

“There’s so much winning with it, really,” says the woman whose songwriting hits include Celine Dion’s “Because You Loved Me” and Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing.” “You have to write something that makes somebody feel good or less lonely or something, or it just moves them. But the most important thing is that I write songs that I love.”

Diane Warren: Ruthless is now in theaters and will be available to stream on MasterClass starting January 16th.

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Source: HIS Education